Abstract
BackgroundMedical students often struggle to engage in extra-curricular research and audit. The Student Audit and Research in Surgery (STARSurg) network is a novel student-led, national research collaborative. Student collaborators contribute data to national, clinical studies while gaining an understanding of audit and research methodology and ethical principles. This study aimed to evaluate the educational impact of participation.MethodsParticipation in the national, clinical project was supported with training interventions, including an academic training day, an online e-learning module, weekly discussion forums and YouTube® educational videos. A non-mandatory, online questionnaire assessed collaborators’ self-reported confidence in performing key academic skills and their perceptions of audit and research prior to and following participation.ResultsThe group completed its first national clinical study (“STARSurgUK”) with 273 student collaborators across 109 hospital centres. Ninety-seven paired pre- and post-study participation responses (35.5%) were received (male = 51.5%; median age = 23). Participation led to increased confidence in key academic domains including: communication with local research governance bodies (p < 0.001), approaching clinical staff to initiate local collaboration (p < 0.001), data collection in a clinical setting (p < 0.001) and presentation of scientific results (p < 0.013). Collaborators also reported an increased appreciation of research, audit and study design (p < 0.001).ConclusionsEngagement with the STARSurg network empowered students to participate in a national clinical study, which increased their confidence and appreciation of academic principles and skills. Encouraging active participation in collaborative, student-led, national studies offers a novel approach for delivering essential academic training.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0326-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Medical students often struggle to engage in extra-curricular research and audit
The appreciation and application of research and audit principles is widely recognised as a core component of all medical school curricula [1]
In the United Kingdom (UK), medical school curriculum guidance is set out by the General Medical Council’s (GMC) ‘Tomorrow’s Doctors’ (2009) [2], which calls for proficiency in evidence-based medicine, formulation of research questions
Summary
Medical students often struggle to engage in extra-curricular research and audit. Student collaborators contribute data to national, clinical studies while gaining an understanding of audit and research methodology and ethical principles. The appreciation and application of research and audit principles is widely recognised as a core component of all medical school curricula [1]. Medical student participation in audit and research offers a practical opportunity to explore the application. Item: Apply scientific method and approaches to medical research: (a). Appraise the results of relevant diagnostic, prognostic and treatment trials and other qualitative and quantitative studies as reported in the medical and scientific literature (b). Formulate simple relevant research questions in biomedical science, psychosocial science or population science, and design appropriate studies or experiments to address the questions. Understand the ethical and governance issues involved in medical research In the United Kingdom (UK), medical school curriculum guidance is set out by the General Medical Council’s (GMC) ‘Tomorrow’s Doctors’ (2009) [2], which calls for proficiency in evidence-based medicine, formulation of research questions
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